DN: ReBorn
by KishinofMadness
Summary: Interesting. Apparently too interesting to waste away in nothingness. Given new life as a Shinigami, what will Kira do with it? Will he choose to truly become a God of death, or to waste away in apathy as most Shinigami?
1. The Last Ray of Light

*AN Sorry for these, but I want to let you, dear reader, know what you are getting yourself into. I am a huge Kira fan and I hate the way Death Note ends. This is my twist on a continuation of the series, using the images in Director's Cut as a jumping off point. If you haven't seen it, worry not tho. It doesn't really do much, and I just stole an idea from it. If you are an L person, you will be disappointed to know he will only be referenced here. I hope you might stick around regardless tho. The majority of this story takes place five years after the death of Light. It's going to be long and therefor, I will need you to bear with me during the exposition. I will try and make it worth your while. Also, one of the main characters here will be an OC. As someone who normally hates them myself, I hope I didn't lose you right there. I thought about it long and hard, and making someone new was the only way I saw this working. I hope she is not annoying and manages to seem to belong. This first chapter is short (Sorry. I write until the chapter is done, not to a certain length) others will most likely be longer. Please review if you like it. It is most appreciated.

I obviously don't own Death Note...I wouldn't be writing FANfiction if I did. I wouldn't mind borrowing Kira for a little while tho... X}

**The Last Ray of Light**

He woke to the painful feeling of his heart unwillingly relearning how to beat. If he hadn't already been dead, he was sure that first beat would have killed him.

One…two…three…

He counted the beats, not daring to move. He understood on some level beyond reason that he had this choice: He could lay here and count the beats until they slowed and finally, for the second and last time, stopped altogether; or he could take the breath that would tether him back into his body.

He couldn't feel anything other than the struggling pulse. What happened to all the bullet holes that should be seeping away what was left of his cold blood? Where were the last rays of light seeping in across his eyes? In fact, where was the uneven pressure from the stairwell that he had last remembered feeling against his back? _What the hell is happening to me? _

He could feel his heart slowing now, winding down from its final Hail Mary chance at keeping him alive, if that's what it was doing. It was now or never. One chance: Please make your selection now sir.

_ I always have been too curious for my own good,_ he thought, deciding in the last second what he would do.

Light took a breath.

Immediately, he felt the deepest cold he had ever known seep into every part of him. It felt like he was inhaling goddamned _ice _straight into his bones. He wrenched his eyes open, glimpsing just a flash of barren grey scenery before he was rolling onto his side, gagging on the fowl, frigid air he had just allowed into himself. Coughing seemed to help. Or maybe he was just getting used to it.

But that didn't seem to be the right phrase. Every breath he choked down was spreading the cold further, and the further it spread the less it seemed a foreign invader. He wasn't 'getting used to' the cold. It was becoming part of him.

He heard someone walking up in front of him. With a surge of his customary arrogance he thought, _I will _not _allow anyone to see me like this. _Summoning every scrap of strength that he could find, Light forced his uncooperative muscles to raise his head to meet his unknown visitor. It was a Shinigami. One he had never seen.

"Ah, yeh must be the new arrival then. I heard yeh caused one hell of a lot of trouble for the humans. That's why ye'r here yeh know. Impressed the boss yeh did, and that's no small feat let me tell yeh. Gonna be a hell of a lot harder to get made Shinigami for the next bunch with Notes, thanks to yeh." The Shinigami seemed to sense the struggle Light was having and stooped down to have a closer look.

Light did his best to glare defiantly at the tall, imposing figure, but it was getting ridiculously hard to stay conscious, never-mind mustering the effort to put this guy (girl? it was too damn hard to tell with Shinigami) in its place.

Looking like it was having the time of its life, the Shinigami extended one gnarled finger and arrogantly exerted the slightest pressure on Light's shoulder. As weak as he was, it was enough to cause him to tumble to the ground and knock the air out of him all at once. As it watched him struggle feebly to regain his breath, the unknown Shinigami let out a harsh cackle.

"Trouble yeh may have caused a'plenty, but I don't mind telling yeh, yeh don't look like much now! Ah, but don't worry much. We all started out like this. Ye'll get used to ye'r Shinigami body soon. I just wanted to be the first to introduce yeh to ye'r new 'life'. Welcome to the Shinigami Realm kid, yeh better get comfy, ye'll be here a while!" Letting out another cackle for good measure, the Shinigami reached its hand out, placing it over Light's eyes, and for the second time that day the fading light was the last thing he knew.


	2. Transition Phase

*AN Odd use of pronouns here. Don't worry. It is intentional and will soon cease.

**Transition **

Again the first thing he became aware of was his heartbeat. _Has it always felt like this, am I just noticing it because it was gone? _But no, he was fairly certain something was different. Heartbeats never used to feel like pumping frozen poison thru his body. And he was _damn _sure he'd never had to make the decision to start breathing every time he woke up. That was going to get old fast.

He did it tho (with no unexpected difficulty this time, thankfully) and slowly pulled himself up on one arm. Taking his first full look around the Shinigami Realm, he was less than impressed. It looked like the bastard child of a nuclear ground zero and a desert, with the atmosphere of a haunted cemetery thrown in for that special something. Derelict buildings dotted the landscape at odd intervals, with what looked like the archeological remains of a hundred dead civilizations mixed up and tossed around at random. It just added to the overall charm of the place that there didn't seem to be a dash of color in sight. The whole panorama was painted in a bleak monochromatic grey that he immediately found repulsive.

_If this is what the Shinigami Realm looks like, I don't blame Ryuk a second for trying to find something to lighten the mood. _

Ryuk. That random Shinigami that had harassed him before. _That's right. If this is the Shinigami world, then somewhere around here, there are Shinigami. _He laughed suddenly at his next thought; _Well, _other _Shinigami anyway. _

"Now what's so damned funny that ye'd be waking me up? Ah, it's yeh. Ye'r awake, and for good this time it looks." The Shinigami from before. It had been napping on the overhanging ledge above. _Watching me…for what?_

Deciding that he'd let this thing have the upper hand for too long, he shoved himself to his feet and turned to face it. "Yeah, awake. To the ugliest sunrise I've ever seen."

After truly taking in the appearance of his watcher, he felt the last comment was entirely justified. The thing looked vaguely like a human tribal chieftain…if you could ignore the exposed muscle and bone that formed its body. The eye also had trouble glossing over the evil-looking black hook that it sported for a left hand. And let us not forget the gaping eye-like hole sitting pretty in the middle of its chest. Yep, no doubt about it: This thing was ugly given form. He made these observations in the split second that it took him to flip his nose up in the air at it arrogantly.

It looked shocked at his audacity for a second before bursting out with that infernal cackle again. "Ah, ye'r an arrogant little shit for one that's just now got had by a brat."

Seeing that this had the hoped for effect of making him bristle, the Shinigami continued, "And I don't right see where yeh get off calling _me _ugly either. Had a look at yerself yet, have yeh?"

He flinched a bit at that. Come to think of it, hadn't it mentioned something about a Shinigami body earlier? And obviously these guys couldn't have been born that ugly if they used to be human too. With some trepidation, he looked around for something reflective. Seeing the pale light shining off a puddle of something a few feet over, he made his way to it.

He refused to look down at the parts of himself he could see as he walked. He wanted to see the worst of it first. _What the hell does my _face _look like? _He wondered. He heard the Shinigami drop off the ledge and follow. _Of course, come right along. _He thought venomously.

At the edge, he steeled himself for what he would see looking back. He had always prided himself on his looks, and it pained him more than he cared to admit to think that he might look like that…_thing…_now. Hell, he didn't even want to look like Ryuk, tho that would be slightly easier to deal with. Oh well, no way to change it now. Deep breath and…

It wasn't as bad as he had feared. Sure he wasn't exactly pretty, but he wasn't hideous either. He was still wearing the suit he had died in, tho it was a bit worse for the wear now (_So much for the ridiculous amount I paid for tailoring). _His face was essentially a skeletal visage with a bit extra added, apparently to allow movement, and he now allowed himself to glance down and verify that his hands matched. The most annoying part was his hair. Somebody had a sick sense of humor. It was thrown back in a gravity defying style that made him look like one of those ridiculous anime characters. He gave it a few fruitless tugs before deciding it was a hopeless case.

The Shinigami behind him waited while he examined himself before resuming the conversation. "Ah, yeh don't seem like yeh mind it that much" It sounded terribly disappointed.

He laughed and replied, "You had me worried. There I was thinking I was going to look like one of your relatives, but next to you I'm absolutely adorable."

"Ah. How yeh look as a Shinigami is determined by what ye'r like inside. Ryuk is a joker so he looks like a damn clown. Rem was tricky and cunning so she looked like nothing as much as an overgrown snake. Yeh…what does that make yeh look like?"

He looked again, pensively this time. "How familiar with Western mythology are you?"

"Ah, I think I remember something from a couple millenniums ago. Why?"

"There is one myth in particular that I was always fond of. They call it the Grim Reaper, or simply Death. It's a tall, skeletal figure dressed in black. His job is to harvest the souls of the dead with his giant scythe. He is one of the most feared and respected figures in history."

"Ah, I think I remember seeing something like that when the humans were dealing with that plague thing. So yeh think ye'r Death then do yeh?" Another abrupt cackle. "Well ain't yeh Mister High-and-Mighty then. Just remember this kid, yeh may have made one hell of an intimidating human, but here yer just another Shinigami, and the new one besides. Some of us won't take too well to yeh lip."

Noticing that he had gotten up and walked away while it was talking, the Shinigami yelled out after him, "Hey! Where yeh goin'?"

"To find a scythe," He called back over his shoulder.

The reverberating sound of cackling followed him for miles.


	3. Kira

**Kira **

"Triple skulls?! Again?! You're cheating again Dellidublly."

"Eh, so what? Cheating makes it more interesting. You didn't catch on till now, so pay up! You got no right to keep what should've went back to His Majesty anyhow"

A high pitched giggle like a perverse imitation of a child filled the air. "He's right. You didn't see it until _after _the bones was thrown. You lose! Lose, lose, lose!"

"You lose too Meadra. You gotta pay too. And if it should go back to the King why do you want it? I'll be damned if you're gonna turn it in."

"What? No way! But he cheated Gook! Ah man, this is my last Roc's Feather…what am I supposed to play with now?"

He watched the trio of Shinigami gambling with a mixture of mild amusement, slight disbelief, and outright disgust. Ryuk hadn't been exaggerating after all; it looked like all these guys did all day was sit on their asses and collect dust. It was disgraceful. Why bother to exist at all if you were just wasting space? What was the purpose of postponing death by becoming a Shinigami if all you were going to do with immortality was jack around until you had no choice but to write a few random human's names down and repeat the whole cycle? _Death gods my ass. I made a better Shinigami than these guys _before _I found the Death Note._

One thing had caught his eye tho. The one called Dellidublly, the cheater, had what he was looking for. Actually, thanks to the outcome of the last game, he had **both **things now.

He stepped out into the open and walked over to the still arguing trio. They looked up at his approach but didn't seem concerned or interested enough to bother with such troublesome issues as actually moving. "Well now that's something you don't see every day," the one that had called out the cheater drawled lazily. "A newborn Shinigami, fresh outta the proverbial womb. Ain't it just precious ladies?"

"Makes ya just wanna cootchie-coo at it all damn day. Now hurry up and deal out the pieces, I'm gonna have that Werewolf Fang of yours before the next turn of the moon."

"Yeah! Deal 'em out, deal 'em out!"

_Well this shouldn't be too difficult. These morons make Ryuk look like the freaking Student of the Year._ He circled the group, watching the game play for a few turns, figuring out the rules and quickly learning that despite how outraged they had seemed about it cheating was par for the course. All three of them had at least as many pieces hidden away as there were in play. Luckily tho, being determined to do their best to ignore him completely, they weren't overly watchful and he was able to swipe a few of the higher value pieces from each of them as well as some of the more generic swag they were playing for.

Completing his pass, he sat down on the least disgusting looking of the rocks that were assembled around the pit to serve as make-shift chairs. When the others laid down their bets for the next game, he tossed one of his pilfered items in the pile as well.

"Well well, looks like baby wants to play too," said the one called Gook, apparently the yappiest of the bunch. "What do ya think, should we take its candy away? It seems so happy to give it up."

Dellidublly grunted his reply, "Humph. Don't matter to me. The more of ya that wanna give me your stuff the better, far as I'm concerned."

"Hey do you really have candy? Like, human candy?" Meadra asked him, tugging on his sleeve.

"Sit the hell down Meadra, it was a joke. Well hurry up then, deal him in."

As he had planned, he made sure to lose several games at first, and to lose them terribly. He had to make it look like he was figuring out the rules as he went, and most importantly, make it look like he didn't see that they were cheating him out of everything he had.

Once they satisfied themselves that he was no threat to their winnings, the gamblers became more relaxed and resumed their conversations, including him this time. "So, what do ya think about your new home here, pumpkin?" The Gook (_What a name, _he thought) asked.

Using his not unimpressive acting skills, he replied with a shrug and a laugh, "Well, it wouldn't exactly be my first choice in design, but I suppose it will have to do for the time being."

Dellidublly answered without looking up from his pile of spoils, "Time being? Hell, you better get damn used to it. This train wreck is all you're gonna be seeing for the rest of eternity."

He gave them the benefit of looking a bit depressed and sighed. "I suppose you're right. I don't think I really knew what I was getting myself into back there."

The other three all nodded whatever passed for their heads in sullen agreement. _Now we're getting somewhere, _he thought.

Meadra bounced up and down a few times (perhaps the motion was necessary in order for it to formulate actual thought) before excitedly asking him, "Hey! Your name is Yagami Light, right? Light! What a name for a Shinigami. Isn't that funny guys?"

His eyes narrowed down to two red slits, he answered in a voice that had nothing of the naïve quality of moments before, "No. Yagami Light was an insignificant human that died long ago. I am Kira and nothing else. If I ever hear anyone call me by that name again, I'll make sure they regret it."

Silence. Kira wondered for a moment if his outburst may have caused some difficulties in his plan when Dellidublly laughed and said, "Relax, whoever you are. You're in the Shinigami Realm now. No one gives a damn what you wanna call yourself here. Hell, go by Santa Claus for all I care, as long as we get back to the game."

He gave a self-depreciative laugh and shrugged, "You're right. I guess I'm just a bit touchy. I'll get used to it eventually." Deciding that now was as good of an opening as he was likely to get, he peered over at Dellidublly's pile as if he was just now noticing what was perched on the top.

"Hey!" He yelled, jumping to his feet and pointing to what he was referencing so that there could be no doubt what he was talking about. "That's my Death Note! The one I used when I was human. How did you get it?"

"This?" answered the wily gambler, picking it up by a corner as if it was of no consequence. "Is that where it came from? Actually, I won it in a game earlier today. Why? You interested in it?"

"I want it back! I mean, what else do I have from back then?" He shoved the rest of his pile of betting junk into the center. "Here, I'll bet it all. I have to have it!"

Excited now at his position of seemingly having Kira at a disadvantage, the others watched as Dellidublly pressed forward to try and get as much out of the situation as was possible. Dellidublly scratched what functioned as his chin and seemed to contemplate. "Well, I don't know now. Spare Death Notes are hard to come by, and what you've got there isn't even all that impressive. Hell, I've got _hundreds _of Cockatrice Talons back home…"

Seemingly in desperation, Kira looked around apparently debating his next action. "I have to have it. I'll bet anything. If I lose, I'll do whatever you want. I'll even go to the human world and bring you back gold!"

He had guessed right. Dellidublly's eyes brightened with greed as the others leaned forward with bated breath to hear what would be said next. "Real gold would be a hell of a lot better prize than this trash. All right _Kira. _I'll take that beat. Deal 'em out!"

The pieces were tossed up. Just as he had expected them to do based on the way he had played previously and how high the stakes were, all three of the other Shinigami were too busy watching each other for signs of cheating to notice as he switched his own pieces out. When they each reveled what they had ended with, he was careful to make sure that he looked as surprised as they did.

"_Four Skulls? _No way! Where's the justice in the world when some newborn gets luck like that?!"

"Lucky four, lucky four, lucky four!"

Dellidublly said nothing. He glared at Kira with as much venom as he could muster, determined to get him to back down. Finally tho, sensing that it was hopeless and seething with disgust, he roughly kicked the pile of winnings containing the familiar Death Note over, admitting defeat.

Kira snatched the Note in victory, leaving the rest of the trash that he had no use for. His skeletal visage grimaced at his unfortunate playing companions. "Well I guess that's luck for you. Maybe we can play again sometime." He faked a stretch and yawned, "I'll be going now. I think it's my nap time. Until next time…ladies" So saying, he turned to leave.

Shinigami don't take well to being played however. Quick as a flash, Dellidublly snatched up his scythe the instant Kira turned his back and slashed it out with precision honed by centuries of practice. The sharpened bone tip slashed open the hidden pocket of Kira's jacket, spilling the game pieces he had concealed inside.

For a moment all that could be heard was the almost musical tinkling of the small bones falling to the ground and rolling to a stop. Then Dellidublly pulled himself up from his seat (an occurrence so rare that it involved the uprooting of several varieties of moss as well as one sickly sapling that had begun to sprout) and announced in a deadly quiet voice, "I've cheated at this damn game way too many times to call your win null, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you walk away with that Note without some bruises to show for it."

So saying, all hell broke loose as the three gambling Shinigami jumped Kira, determined that he would pay _something _for cheating them out of the rare luxury of having a spare Note. Bone arms, legs so poorly bandaged that the rotting tissue within was clearly visible, pudgy tentacles, dirty but well-tailored suits…it was impossible to keep up with what belonged to which of the tussling fighters for a brief but violent moment. Finally tho, Kira stumbled to the ground in front of the three panting figures.

Still huffing with unaccustomed exertion, Dellidublly spat, "That's what ya get ya little shit! Don't think ya can come in here and act like you're something, you're nothing! Didn't we show ya?!"

Wiping a bit of blood from the corner of his mouth, Kira smirked and threw back, "Yeah I've learned my lesson. The one it took all three of you to teach me."

Dellidublly huffed in derision and turned to lead the trot back to the gambling pit when he suddenly found his movement impended by the strange object now protruding from his chest. It was his bone scythe. Kira had snatched it from where he had tossed it down, forgotten, during the fight.

Wrenching it as painfully as possible, Kira roughly pulled the weapon thru the Shinigami's torso. Before they had time to realize what had happened, he had cleaved similar size holes in the other two slower Shinigami.

Their roles reversed, the gamblers now lay on the ground quite literally trying to pull themselves back together. Kira stood over them, laughing while he tested the heft of his newly acquired accessory.

"That worked out better than even I could have hoped. There I was thinking I was going to have to come up with some other way to convince you to let me take this off your hands when out of the kindness of your heart, you gave me the perfect opportunity. I appreciate your generosity; I never knew Shinigami could be so _giving_."

Meadra burbled in what seemed to be a caricature of a child's cry. "I don't know why you have to be so mean. It won't even do you any good. We won't die you know!"

"Oh I know. But I doubt any of you will be in a hurry to repeat the experience either. Tell all of your little friends; I'm not some weak thing for you to haze for your amusement. Any Shinigami who gets in my way, I may not be able to kill you, but I'll make sure you'll wish I _could."_

Kira slammed the top of the scythe into the ground between the trio, causing them to flinch. "Now, I have one more request and then I'll be on my way: Tell me where I can find Ryuk."

Defeated, Dellidublly sullenly pointed to a stairwell leading to a dark ridge on the horizon. "Alright already. He's always over around there."

Grabbing one of the shriveled up excuses for apples that populated the Shinigami Realm on the way, Kira ascended the staircase, emerging into a spray of light emitted by the Realm's pitiful sun. He didn't bother to announce his presence; the older Shinigami knew he was there. He tossed the pathetic apple to the hunched up figure that perched on the cliff ahead.

"I would prefer a juicy one." Ryuk announced, but ate it anyway.

Kira stared for a moment at the one who had started all this trouble for him so long ago. The reason he was here.

His greatest annoyance.

His killer.

His friend.

"They tell me you spent some time in the human world. Tell me what happened there."

Ryuk straightened up but didn't turn. He produced one of his wheezing laughs and began to tell the story. Kira didn't stick around to hear it tho. Why should he? He had done what he came for. And besides, he already knew that story; knew it quite well in fact, better even than Ryuk. He knew what happens next.

His two Death Notes tucked securely away, Kira wandered over to the portal that would lead him back to the human world…back to his mission. After all, he was Justice.

And justice still had work to do.


	4. It BeginsAgain

A/N Welcome to Chapter Four, wherein I finally get around to introducing the second main character. =] Be a dear on your way out and leave a review if you don't mind. They really do make my life a little bit brighter each time.

**It Begins…Again**

Tsuki Nagataki was a singularly determined woman. For this, she blamed her father entirely.

As a prosecuting attorney, fresh from passing his bar exam and full to bursting of ideals of Supreme and Universal Justice, Judge Masahiro Nagataki had been deeply and irrevocably affected by the unexpected murder of his young wife. Worse still was the betrayal he felt when the culprit, a two-bit street thug who had been trying to scare up enough cash from petty mugging to finance his latest fix, got off with involuntary manslaughter by copping a deal and ratting on a few of his more prolific providers.

Involuntary. As if the bastard had pulled a gun on her _by accident. _Or worse, that his beautiful, loving, innocent wife had somehow done something to force the strung-out junkie's hand.

The experience had broken his faith in the criminal justice system that he had worked so hard to become a part of. Never one to give in to despair however, Nagataki-san channeled more of his energy than ever before into becoming a force to be feared by those who would dare to defile the Law. Within a few short years he had acquired a reputation as a frighteningly difficult prosecutor to win against, and that reputation had carried him far. When the opportunity arose, he jumped at the chance to preside over his own court. He knew that as long as he was behind the stand, no one who had committed the sort of atrocity that had shattered his young family would ever walk free.

Tho she had been too small to remember much, the shadow of her mother's unpunished murder as well as the pressure of growing up under the powerful influence of her father's unrelenting desire for justice instilled in Tsuki an almost fanatical adoration of Law and Order. This, coupled with an unusually keen instinct for detecting guilt in those accused, allowed for many chances to practice at being an attorney during her early school years as her teachers quickly learned to trust her to truthfully help them to deduce which of her classmates had been pilfering cookies, sneaking away at nap time or any of a hundred other childhood 'crimes'. As she grew, these talents grew and developed with her, leading to a school career that was littered with accolades of presiding roles in student government and startling performances on the mock trial team. Always a top student, there was never a doubt in anyone's mind that brilliant, popular-but-reserved, honest Tsuki would follow in her father's footsteps and devote her life to putting criminals behind bars and otherwise pursuing justice.

Then Lord Kira descended and _Justice_ became so much more.

Tsuki was barely in Junior High when the first Judgments were passed down. She knew right away that everything had changed, forever. There had been a special sign just for her; one of the first punished had been her mother's killer. Even at the beginning, when most people were too frightened to see what was happening, Tsuki knew the truth of Kira: He was the new God of the Just, come down to punish the sinners and provide salvation and protection for the righteous. She quickly noticed what it took others years to finally figure out: Kira only punished those who deserved it. No one that had died because of Kira's Divine Wrath had ever been found innocent of the accusations leveled against them.

She had always wanted to become a prosecuting attorney so that she could help to imprison those that would prey on the weak. In an instant her motivation, but not her goal, had changed. She would still follow her father's steps thru law school and achieve her long anticipated career, but she was no longer doing it to fill the already over-flowing prisons with more of the never ending filth that so exuberantly competed for a place therein; instead she was going use her skills to help her Lord Kira in deciding which criminals were deserving of receiving his Judgment.

Tsuki had given no outward signs of her support of Kira's mission. She knew that the world was still too corrupted by the evil that dwelled within to see the truth of it. She continued to apply herself diligently and quietly as ever to her studies and made sure that her friends had no reason to worry over her. In private however, she devoted her time to meticulously researching the criminals that it seemed Kira had overlooked. Once she had ascertained a sinner's guilt, she would post her findings, along with the name and photo, on one of the number of sites that were springing up in support of the new God. Every time that one of her postings was Judged, (and they nearly always were) she took it as further affirmation that this was indeed what Kira needed from her; this was her purpose, her destiny.

And then suddenly, when she was finishing up her last year of high school, the Judgments stopped as abruptly as they had begun. She was confused. Tho there had been a great reduction in crime, and tho the people as a whole had finally begun to accept Kira as their Savior, there were still many more criminals to bring to Justice. She continued to faithfully post her new findings on the guilty for several months, until it became apparent to her that Kira was no longer listening.

What had happened? The detective known as **L** had always maintained that Kira was in fact a human who had somehow acquired the power to kill by a name and face and that they would be caught eventually, but surely if that had happened she would have known. **L **would have wanted to use the revelation that Kira had been no god, and therefore able to be captured, to increase his reputation and to clear the sullied name of the police, but no such announcement had been made.

Now, with five years passed since the cessation of the Judgments, the world had started to wake up to the realization that Kira no longer seemed to be watching them with quite as keen an eye. The savvy criminals who had fled into the woodwork at the first signs of Divine Retribution were beginning to re-emerge and form the rotten core of the new-wave of organized crime. In addition to these mafia-styled masterminds, the rate of one-to-one violent crime was also beginning a rise that was tentative but quickly gaining confidence with each successive act that went unpunished.

Things had not yet reached the sickening level that they had been pre-Kira, but Tsuki could see that the trend was clear. With the world getting worse every day, she couldn't help but wonder if her God had abandoned her. Had Kira seen that it was hopeless, that no matter what effort He put into cleansing the world in the end humanity would just muck it up again? No, she couldn't believe that. If Kira would give up so easily, then there was absolutely no point in the efforts of people like her father. If matters were so far beyond rectifying that even a god felt the task was too great, she may as well drop out of law school right now and turn to crime herself.

These were the thoughts that were ruminating around Tsuki's mind while her History of Defense professor lectured on about classic examples of persuasive attorneys that had used their spirited performances to sway juries into questionable verdicts of "not-guilty." With an effort, she brought herself back to the present and jotted down a few half-hearted notes about the American O.J. Simpson's murder trial. She didn't normally daydream in classes, but this one was an exception. After all, she was going to be a _prosecuting _attorney, why would she need to study up on ways to defend the guilty? Sadly tho, the class was required, and boring as it was at least maybe she would learn what to look for if she was ever placed against one of these wily attorneys.

_Find a bright side, find a bright side,_ she chanted to herself.

But really, what was the point? Nearly all of the people who had benefited from these stunning defenses had been Judged by Kira anyway. And Dr. Yamada only reiterated the passages from their textbooks in his lectures, so it wasn't like she was going to miss anything. _Oh forget it,_ she thought with a sigh. _I'll just read the chapter later. _Thus decided, she gave up on paying attention to the droning professor and took to doodling cute pictures of Shinza the Werecat in her expensive, professional, leather-bound notebook.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, class was over. After putting the final flourishes on her last doodle, Tsuki stretched and started the process of shoving all her class things (most of which they hadn't even used…again) into her bag.

"Tsuuuuuki-chan! I saw you daydreaming over there. You looked pretty occupied." Giggles and a faux whisper, "Is it a BOY?"

Mari. She and Tsuki had known each other for years. How someone so astoundingly childish had managed to get into and survive law school thus far served as a constant source of wonder for Tsuki.

Internally groaning, Tsuki answered the bouncing ball of annoyance, "No. No 'boy'. Did I look that distracted? I must just be tired."

Looking crushed at the loss of potential gossip material, Mari quickly switched to Phase Two. It was a conversation Tsuki was woefully familiar with. "Well that's a shame. A girl as pretty as you shouldn't have spend her nights alone! What is _wrong _with these boys here? I don't get why you don't have 'em lining up and taking numbers! BUT! I've got just the solution." She paused for what Tsuki assumed was dramatic effect, (since it seemed she never actually required breath) before proclaiming with the general air of a game show host revealing that Door Number Two was indeed a Brand New Car; "My cousin Aki!"

Turning her back to the jabbering loon and walking toward the door, Tsuki rolled her eyes. _This time it's her cousin. Does she know a limitless supply of single men? _Mari was blissfully following along extolling the praises of her cousin, oblivious to Tsuki's indifference. The space-case accosted her at least weekly to continue what she seemed to think of as her personal mission; which seemed to consist mainly of playing matchmaker for people who showed no interest in the idea. The truth of the matter was, Tsuki had plenty of men to choose from (most of them far more qualified than any relation to Mari), she just didn't _care. _When the mood struck her she had guys she could call for a hook-up, but other than that the idea of pursuing romance was so far down on her list of priorities that it may as well not exist in her mind.

Sadly, this was not the case for Mari. _Does she _ever _think about anything else? God, she's such a…girl! _Agitated and realizing that unless she did something about it, Mari would be accompanying her back to her apartment (_Ugh), _Tsuki cut her off.

"Look Mari, I appreciate it, but I don't really think your cousin sounds like my type."

Looking crestfallen, the would-be cupid sputtered, "But you guys would be PERFECT! Well, if Aki's not your type maybe…"

"NO! I mean, thanks and all, but I'm just not looking right now. Busy with studying and all that. I hardly even have any time for me anymore. But if I ever need help finding someone I'll be sure to let you know right away! I have to go now tho…lots of studying you know. Got to hit the books. Well, Bye!" Tsuki blurted all this out at a tongue-twisting speed while she quickly backed her way out of the classroom. Luckily, throwing so many words at her at one time seemed to have thoroughly overloaded Mari's ability to keep up and Tsuki was able to make her escape while the nitwit stood and tried to work out what had gone wrong with her plan.

Once she had put what she felt was a safe distance between them, Tsuki slowed to a more reasonable speed and heaved a sigh of relief. She really couldn't stand women like that. Honestly, acting like they were nothing if they weren't claimed by some barbarous caveman…Of course once they found a man they all but attached themselves to him, acting like the sun rose and set on his command. It was disgusting. Their behavior only served to increase men's ideas that women were brainless, pretty little things only one small step above property.

Oh well. Count it as one more thing wrong with this world.

Tho one would _think,_ after being shown how terribly flawed everything was, ideas like that would have fallen away as unimportant and outdated as well. Why were people still devoting their time to pointless pursuits when there was still so much to be done? _This world is far from saved. Even after all the work Lord Kira put into it. It's still rotting. _

Tsuki was startled out of engaging in further mental ranting by a slight movement she caught out of the corner of her eye. Stopping to look, she saw what looked like a small black notebook lying on the ground.

_Odd. I could have sworn it just landed there. _But there was no one around who could have dropped it. Looking around to make sure no one was pranking her, Tsuki walked over to have a closer look. Picking the book up, she saw that it didn't seem to be a class book. It looked terribly old, and rather well used.

"Death Note…" she read the title aloud. Stanger still, it was written in English. Flipping open the cover, she read the words written inside the front cover.

_The human whose name is written is this Note shall die._

Her eyes widened and she glanced around again to make sure she was alone. _Creepy. It sounds like some stupid prank that a kid would play. But…there's something about it. The person whose name is written will die. It's so matter of fact, like there is no doubt that it will happen. It doesn't look like something a kid could make either; the leather is way too old to be fake. There's something else too. It feels so…cold, almost like it doesn't belong in this world. _

Shocked at the way her thoughts had turned. Tsuki laughed aloud at herself. Ridiculous. How can something come from another world? You couldn't kill someone by writing their _name._ She rolled her eyes at the silly thing. That would be impossible. Unthinkable. And who would ever use it even if it worked?

But she took it anyway.

Later that night Tsuki lay on her bed, contemplating the unthinkable. No way it worked…But, the possibilities if it DID…Impossible…The things she could do…It would be murder…No one would ever know…Murder…Who would she kill?...Murder…

Suddenly, Tsuki jerked upright. She was going about this entirely wrong. Hadn't she been keeping up with criminals that Kira hadn't punished for years? She had faithfully continued to believe, even now when the rest of the world was beginning to slide backward into chaos. She had been wondering just that day what had happened to Lord Kira's Judgments. She had thought he had abandoned her, but what if this was her answer? What had she thought when she picked up the Note? That it felt like it was _not from this world._ Maybe it wasn't, maybe it was placed in that abandoned stretch of sidewalk for a reason, and maybe she was meant to do this.

Decision made, Tsuki grabbed her laptop and quickly brought up the file she had kept on those she felt most deserving of receiving Judgment. She scanned the contents carefully. If it was a hoax, then who she picked would never matter, but if it was for real then the choice was of the utmost importance. For one thing, it had to be someone that she would be able to check immediately.

_There. _Ray Arivok. He had been arrested in America several months ago and was scheduled for trial today. Arivok was accused of the torture and eventual murder of three separate women over the course of a year; a crime which he had most certainly committed. The nature of his crime was so heinous that the proceedings were being simultaneously broadcast in all major nations. Everyone was watching it. She would know at once if the Note did what it promised.

Turning on her T.V., Tsuki fixed the image of Ray Arivok's face in her mind as she wrote. R…A…Y…A…R…I…V…O…she hesitated over the last letter but luckily (or perhaps unluckily) Arivok chose that moment to cast a sneer at the grieving families of his victims who had gathered to witness the proceedings. With particular vehemence, Tsuki scratched out the last letter, K, and then waited with bated breath to see what would happen.

38…39…40! There! For the first time in five years the whole world held its breath as the strong and healthy Arivok suddenly grasped his chest in what was clearly, frighteningly, a heart attack.

It didn't take long. It never did. Within seconds, Arivok slumped lifeless onto the podium while dead silence reigned in the court room. And then, finally, someone screamed and all hell broke loose.

Back in her bedroom, Tsuki's face was twisted into a leer that she would never have dared show in public. It didn't matter now tho. She had been right all along; she was meant for greatness. Her God hadn't abandoned her, He was simply testing her and it seemed she had passed with flying colors.

Let the worthless filth scream in fear. They should be afraid. Kira had returned. And she, Tsuki, was the dispenser of his wrath.


End file.
